A Research On The Historical Background Of Poetic Drama In Northern Song Dynasty

Poetic drama in Song Dynasty, with main characteristic of satire and critique, had influence on life phenomenon and current politics. "You Yu" was the language used by actors in performance, which were similar to modern line. Most of them were created by actors or were the chosen idioms. Actors achieved the purpose of irony without trace, through using homophonic puns and argots tactfully while performing. Poetic drama in Northern Song Dynasty contained rich content, which almost reflected every aspect of that period.One type of poetic drama referred to literary and art criticism as well as anecdotes of scholar-bureaucrats. Poetic drama actors performed in royal banquets and scholar's parties frequently, so that they had access to anecdotes and association of scholar-bureaucrats. The material was used as elements of play and You Yu, which made plays more close to people's life and more funny.During the Xining reform, the political struggle was becoming increasingly fierce. Poetic drama actors protested against the reform in their own way. Their political stand represented the attitude of most people, so the existing plays about the reform were known to be sarcastic.In late Northern Song Dynasty, especially in Huizong period, poetic drama plays and You Yu were mainly about the political darkness. First, the clique struggle in this period had developed into the cruel blow to political opponents, even into personal persecution to dissidents. Second, the clique struggle had spread to the education and imperial examination fields. Wang Anshi and his New Theory were highly raised in Huizong period. Finally, the statue of Wang Anshi was placed in Confucian temple, ranked above Mencius. Third, Huizong built a large number of palaces and gardens with all country's mighty, so that he can satisfy his desires. Hua Shi Gang was one of the most dreadful policies. Forth, in order to save financial crisis, Cai Jing and his allies tried every shift to exploit people in the name of Xining reform. The currency reform focused on "Dang Shi Qian" caused monetary disorder and gave people great losses.All these situations were reflected in poetic drama plays and You Yu. Actors tried to warn the emperor in a funny way that some of the policies had crossed the line.